Cooktop ventilation and cooling system

ABSTRACT

A domestic cooking appliance is provided. The appliance includes an oven having an oven exhaust duct located above the oven, and an exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the oven exhaust duct and out of an exhaust opening located at an upper rear location of the oven; and a cooktop located above the oven, the cooktop having a main unit configured to be positioned above the oven and having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the main unit, the ventilation system having a cooling air inlet located at a bottom front of the main unit and above the oven, and a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a ventilation system for a cooktop. Cooktops are also known as maintops and therefore the term “cooktop” as used in this application refers to both cooktops and/or maintops.

An example of an application for the invention is an induction cooktop that is located above a domestic oven.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some domestic kitchens include a free standing range or slide-in range unit that has an oven and a cooktop above the oven. These units can be a standard width and made to slide into an appropriate standard width space in a row of lower kitchen cabinets. Conventional cooktops having either gas or conventional electric heating elements on which cooking containers are placed. These types of cooktops can withstand the heat that is generated by the oven below the cooktop with little or no ventilation.

Induction cooktops are becoming more and more popular for various reasons. Induction cooktops (and other types of cooktops) can be more sensitive to heat and, as a result, require significantly more cooling than conventional electric or gas cooktops. In particular jurisdictions, strict laws require particularly low temperatures underneath induction cooktops.

Conventional ventilation cooling systems often cannot provide the temperature reduction needed for induction cooktops.

SUMMARY

The invention achieves the benefit of providing increased ventilation to an induction cooktop above an oven. The invention also recognizes that parts of a conventional oven can be used as parts of the cooktop ventilation system in order to reduce the size and cost of the cooktop.

Some ovens have an oven exhaust air duct that runs on or near the top of the oven. Embodiments of the invention provide a ventilation exhaust duct that routes cooling air from the cooktop to the oven exhaust air duct and uses the oven exhaust fan to help draw the cooling air through the cooktop ventilation system. This configuration provides better ventilation of the cooktop by supplementing the ventilation provided by any fan that may exist in the cooktop. Cooktops in accordance with the invention can be a part of a designed cooktop/oven combination or can be retrofitted to an existing oven having the appropriate exhaust air system.

Particular embodiments of the invention are directed to a domestic cooking appliance having an oven and a cooktop. The oven has an oven exhaust duct located above the oven, and an exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the oven exhaust duct and out of an exhaust opening located at an upper rear location of the oven. The cooktop is located above the oven and has a cooktop main unit positioned above the oven, the cooktop main unit having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the cooktop main unit, the ventilation system having a cooling air inlet located at a bottom of a front of the cooktop main unit and located above the oven, and a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct.

Other embodiments of the invention are directed to a domestic cooktop for locating above a top of a domestic oven, the domestic oven having an oven air exhaust duct located on the top of the domestic oven and an oven exhaust outlet located at the top of the domestic oven nearer a back of the domestic oven than to a front of the domestic oven. The cooktop includes a cooktop main unit configured to be positioned above the oven, the cooktop main unit having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the cooktop main unit, the ventilation system having a cooling air inlet located at a bottom of a front of the cooktop main unit and configured to be located above the oven, and a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following figures form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the disclosed features and functions, and should not be used to limit or define the disclosed features and functions. Consequently, a more complete understanding of the exemplary embodiments and further features and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial side sectional view of a cooking appliance in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side sectional view of a cooking appliance in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial top sectional view of the cooking appliance of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial top sectional view of a cooking appliance in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cooktop inlet duct in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cooktop exhaust duct in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Some domestic kitchens include a free standing range or a slide-in range unit that has an oven and a conventional cooktop having either gas or conventional electric heating elements on which cooking containers are placed. These types of cooktops can withstand the heat that is generated by the oven below the cooktop with little or no ventilation.

Induction cooktops are becoming more and more popular for various reasons. Induction cooktops (and other types of cooktops) can be more sensitive to heat and, as a result, require significantly more cooling than conventional electric or gas cooktops. In particular jurisdictions, strict laws require particularly low temperatures underneath induction cooktops.

Conventional ventilation cooling systems often cannot provide the temperature reduction needed for induction cooktops. Also, a cooling system built into an induction cooktop may be adequate when the cooktop is positioned in a countertop that is not above an oven, but may be inadequate when the cooktop is subjected to heat from an oven located below the cooktop. As a result, conventional induction cooktops cannot be placed above ovens in these situations. However, with the increased popularity of induction cooktops, there is a desire to provide induction cooktops that can be located above ovens. The invention provides a solution to this problem.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a partial side sectional view of a domestic cooking appliance in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a cooktop 100 located above, and attached to, an oven 200. Cooktop 100 has a top surface of a container support 110 on which containers of food are placed for heating. In this example, container support 110 is part of an induction cooking system. However, container support 110 could be any type of cooking system.

Cooktop 100 can be designed and constructed along with oven 200 as part of the domestic cooking appliance. Alternatively, cooktop 100 can be designed and constructed to be attached to an existing oven 200. The inventive ventilation system described below allows cooktop 100 to use parts of the exhaust air ventilation system of oven 200 in order to supplement and improve any ventilation system the cooktop may already have. Some cooktops have a ventilation fan, but alone it may not provide adequate cooling of the cooktop when the cooktop is placed above an oven.

FIG. 1 shows an inlet air path indicated by arrows A and B. Arrow A shows air entering a cooling air inlet 150 located at the front of the appliance at the bottom of cooktop 100. The inlet air flows into cooling air inlet 150 and through cooktop inlet duct 160 to a point underneath container support 110. In this example, cooktop inlet duct 160 has a horizontal portion 162 and a vertical portion 164.

Cooling air flows out of vertical portion 164 and underneath container support 110 and then into cooktop exhaust duct 180. Cooktop exhaust duct 180 has an inlet 182 that is located underneath container support 110 and an outlet 184 that is located at or near the bottom of cooktop 100. This portion of the flow is shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 also shows that the cooling air that flows out of outlet 184 of cooktop exhaust duct 180 flows into an oven air exhaust duct 210. Oven air exhaust duct 210 is a part of oven 200 located at or near the top of oven 200 and is used to move oven exhaust air out of and away from oven 200. In this example, oven exhaust air is pulled through oven air exhaust duct 210 by an oven exhaust fan 220 and discharge at the top of oven 200 near the back of oven 200. Outlet 184 of cooktop exhaust duct 180 can be mechanically attached to oven air exhaust duct 210 (by, for example, screws) or, for example, mated with oven exhaust duct 210 by sliding into an appropriately sized hole in oven exhaust duct 210. Outlet 184 can also simply terminate near a hole in oven exhaust duct 210 such that a vacuum in oven exhaust duct 210 draws the cooling air through outlet 184.

With cooktop 100 in place above oven 200, cooktop cooling air that flows through cooktop exhaust duct 180 flows into oven air exhaust duct 210, through oven exhaust fan 220, and out of a cooktop exhaust outlet 190. Cooktop exhaust outlet 190 is located at the top of cooktop 100 near the back of cooktop 100. This location of exhaust outlet 190 directs the exhaust air, which can be hot, away from a user of the appliance. By channeling cooktop cooling air through oven air exhaust duct 210 and cooktop exhaust outlet 190, a separate exhaust outlet is not needed, reducing the cost, weight and size of cooktop 100.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of oven 200 with one cooktop inlet duct 160 and one cooktop exhaust duct 180 in place. FIG. 4 is a similar view that shows an embodiment using two cooktop inlet ducts 160. In this example, two horizontal portions 162 and one vertical portion 164 are provided, but other embodiments use more horizontal portions and/or two (or more) vertical portions 164. The embodiment shown in FIG. 4, or other similar embodiments, can be used if added inlet capacity is needed.

FIG. 5 shows an example of cooktop inlet duct 160 with horizontal portion 162 and vertical portion 164. Vertical portion 164 terminates at an outlet 166. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, two horizontal portions 162 feed into one vertical portion 164 having one outlet 166 that opens below container support 110. Other configurations of cooktop inlet duct 160 can also be used. FIG. 6 shows an example of cooktop exhaust duct 180 with inlet 182 and outlet 184. Other configurations of cooktop exhaust duct 180 can also be used.

Although the examples shown show outlet 166 of cooktop inlet duct 160 positioned closer to the back of the appliance than the inlet of cooktop exhaust duct 180, it is noted that these positions can be reversed so that outlet 166 of cooktop inlet duct 160 positioned closer to the front of the appliance than the inlet of cooktop exhaust duct 180 as long as the cooling air flows under container support 110 for a significant length of container support 110.

Although the examples shown show both a cooktop inlet duct and a cooktop exhaust duct, other embodiments include only a cooktop inlet duct or only a cooktop exhaust duct. In the embodiments that do not have a cooktop inlet duct, the cooling air of the cooktop will flow unducted from the cooling air inlet to a location near the container support. In the embodiments that do not have a cooktop exhaust duct, the cooling air of the cooktop will flow unducted from a location near the container support to the oven air exhaust duct. Any of these embodiments or the embodiments shown in the Figures can provide improved cooling of the cooktop as compared to using no cooktop inlet duct or cooktop exhaust duct.

It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A domestic cooking appliance, comprising: an oven having an oven exhaust duct located above the oven, and an exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the oven exhaust duct and out of an exhaust opening located at an upper rear location of the oven; and a cooktop located above the oven, the cooktop having a cooktop main unit positioned above the oven, the cooktop main unit having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the cooktop main unit, the ventilation system having a cooling air inlet located at a bottom of a front of the cooktop main unit and located above the oven, and a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct.
 2. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop inlet duct fluidly connected to the cooling air inlet and positioned above the oven air exhaust duct such that the cooktop inlet duct and the oven air exhaust duct are separate ducts, the cooktop inlet duct having an outlet end that is positioned underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one.
 3. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 2, further comprising a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to the second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct.
 4. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one, and the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct.
 5. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the cooktop is an induction cooktop.
 6. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the oven further comprises an exhaust fan, and the ventilation system uses the exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the cooling air inlet and the cooktop duct.
 7. The domestic cooking appliance of claim 3, wherein the outlet end of the cooktop inlet duct is positioned at a location that is nearer to the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the front of the cooktop main unit, and the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct is located at a location that is nearer to the front of the cooktop main unit than it is to the back of the cooktop main unit.
 8. A domestic cooktop for locating above a top of a domestic oven, the domestic oven having an oven air exhaust duct located on the top of the domestic oven and an oven exhaust outlet located at the top of the domestic oven nearer a back of the domestic oven than to a front of the domestic oven, the cooktop comprising: a cooktop main unit configured to be positioned above the oven, the cooktop main unit having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the cooktop main unit, the ventilation system having a cooling air inlet located at a bottom of a front of the cooktop main unit and configured to be located above the oven, and a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct.
 9. The domestic cooktop of claim 8, wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop inlet duct fluidly connected to the cooling air inlet and positioned above the oven air exhaust duct such that the cooktop inlet duct and the oven air exhaust duct are separate ducts, the cooktop inlet duct having an outlet end that is positioned underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one.
 10. The domestic cooktop of claim 9, further comprising a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to the second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct.
 11. The domestic cooktop of claim 8, wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one, and the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct.
 12. The domestic cooktop of claim 8, wherein the cooktop is an induction cooktop.
 13. The domestic cooktop of claim 8, wherein the ventilation system is configured to use an exhaust fan of the oven for moving cooling air though the cooling air inlet and the cooktop duct.
 14. The domestic cooktop of claim 10, wherein the ventilation system is configured to use an exhaust fan of the oven for moving cooling air though cooktop inlet duct and the cooktop exhaust duct.
 15. The domestic cooktop of claim 14, further comprising a cooktop exhaust outlet configured to fluidly connect to the oven exhaust outlet, the cooktop exhaust outlet being located at an upper rear location of the cooktop main unit.
 16. The domestic cooktop of claim 15, wherein the cooktop is configured to route the cooling air through the cooling air inlet, then through the cooktop inlet duct, then under the container support, then through the cooktop exhaust duct, then through the oven air exhaust duct, then through the oven air exhaust outlet, and then through the cooktop exhaust outlet.
 17. The domestic cooktop of claim 16, wherein the outlet end of the cooktop inlet duct is positioned at a location that is nearer to the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the front of the cooktop main unit, and the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct is located at a location that is nearer to the front of the cooktop main unit than it is to the back of the cooktop main unit.
 18. The domestic cooktop of claim 17, wherein the ventilation system is configured to use an exhaust fan of the oven for moving cooling air though the cooktop inlet duct and the cooktop exhaust duct.
 19. The domestic cooktop of claim 18, wherein the cooktop is configured to route the cooling air through the cooling air inlet, then through the cooktop inlet duct, then under the container support, then through the cooktop exhaust duct, then through the oven air exhaust duct, and then through the oven air exhaust outlet.
 20. The domestic cooktop of claim 10, wherein the outlet end of the cooktop inlet duct is positioned at a location that is nearer to the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the front of the cooktop main unit, and the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct is located at a location that is nearer to the front of the cooktop main unit than it is to the back of the cooktop main unit. 